Starlight
by arliddian
Summary: Under the starlight, Amy and Rory ponder their new adventure. Set after The God Complex.


**Starlight**

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><p><strong>Summary:<strong> Under the starlight, Amy and Rory ponder their new adventure. Spoilers for 6x11 (The God Complex).  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Written for the prompt 'pins and needles'. I've already written one fic inspired by _The God Complex_ (The Clean-Up), but I couldn't resist writing another.  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Don't own it; don't sue me.

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><p>After a while, Amy and Rory get on with the adventure of being a normal married couple on Earth. They fall into a pleasant, domestic routine. He gets up early for work and makes sure the coffee pot is full before he leaves in the car the Doctor gave them. Enrolled in a History program at the local university, she makes dinner on the days she doesn't have classes with enough leftovers to feed them on the days she does. They take turns doing the washing up and argue over whose turn it is to clean the bathroom. They alternate between having dinner at his parents' and her parents' houses every Thursday. They catch up with their old friends every now and then, and go to the movies with Jeff and his latest girlfriend whenever he's in town to visit his grandmother.<p>

And on the weekends, if the weather permits, they drive further into the country, climb a hill, and set up a telescope, armed with a lantern, blankets and Thermoses full of hot coffee.

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><p>"Don't you think it's strange?" Amy asks one evening, standing by the telescope, gazing into the distance.<p>

"What?" Rory's drowsy voice drifts over to her, and she doesn't have to look back to know that he's falling asleep on the blanket.

"Just a few months ago, we were _out _there," she says, gesturing broadly at the sweeping expanse of sky. There is a wistfulness in her voice that she cannot hide. "All those stars... we visited some of them, right up close. Now they're just pinpricks. And we're down here."

She hears him get up and a moment later his arms are around her. She relaxes into the warmth and comfort of his body, resting her arms on his, both of them looking out to the stars.

"Do you miss it?" she asks him softly, almost tentatively, seeking validation for her own feelings.

There is a pause before he answers, honest and understanding. "Not as much as you do."

They fall silent and she tightens her grip on his arms. The stars seem sharp and steely tonight, like the ends of a boxful of pins and needles. Above them, the sky stretches on and on, huge and dark and cold.

"He must be lonely," she murmurs, blinking back tears. "Out there, all on his own."

He says nothing, just gathers her in closer, offering wordless comfort because they both know that words are useless. It is a long time before either of them speak again.

"I bet he's out there somewhere," Rory says. "Doing something amazing and dangerous. Saving someone. Or maybe an entire planet."

"Yeah." Amy smiles at that, a shaky, watery smile. "Running around like a madman. A madman-"

"With a box," Rory finishes softly. Gently, he lets go and leads her by the hand back to the blanket. They lie down side-by-side, still gazing up at the stars.

"He said we hadn't seen the last of him," he reminds her. "He might still come back and... visit."

Her lips twist into a wry, sad smile. "Rule number one." She rolls onto her side to face her husband and snuggles closer, placing a hand on his chest, over his heart. "Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. But he told me to stop waiting."

He turns his head and kisses her, soft and sweet, one hand cupping her cheek. She loses herself in the comforting familiarity of his touch, the electricity of his lips on hers, the coolness of his wedding ring against her cheek.

They part and she settles against him again, fitting her body to his.

"We're lucky, you know," he says after a while, words slightly muffled against her hair. "He gets to have the adventures we don't. And we get to have ones that he can't."

Amy blinks up at the stars again. She decides she likes the idea that the Doctor's out there somewhere, having adventures on their behalf. And as much as she misses the excitement of new and bewildering worlds, she does like the life she has here with Rory, a life that she knows the Doctor wouldn't know how to live. She likes the routine and regularity of it, the fact that she's not a constant tourist, the fact that she falls asleep every night and wakes up in the morning knowing exactly where and when she is. She gazes up at the sky, wrapped in Rory's arms, and the stars seem softer now.

"Yeah," she agrees, and this time her smile is not tinged with sadness. "We're lucky."

_Fin_


End file.
